MOU Signing with Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) on Corporate Governance and CSR followed by the launch seminar cobranded by IICA, GIZ and BCC&I on “Business Responsibility and CSR”, 2nd September 2014, Chamber premises
The IICA-BCC&I Seminar on Business Responsibility (BR) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), was organized on 2nd September 2014, at the Williamson Magor Hall at The Bengal Chamber premises. The objective of the seminar was to create awareness on both these areas amongst the corporate sector entities and to also visit and address the capacity development options available.
Towards this objective, the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) has joined hands with the Bengal Chamber to conduct a series of seminars for the corporate sector in order to enable them in championing the twin causes of Business Responsibility and Corporate Social Responsibility.
It was indeed a very special day for The Chamber as we formalized The Bengal Chamber’s agreement and MOU with IICA. IICA or Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and BCC&I had explored and discussed ways to collaborate, and thus arrived at a broad consensus towards partnering with each other in the areas of Corporate Social Responsibility, Competition Law, Corporate Law, Corporate Governance, inclusive growth and sustainable development and any other area that may be agreed upon mutually by both parties.
This Collaboration is mainly aimed at facilitating the sharing and advancement of knowledge towards,
Organizing awareness programmes to promote various aspects of the new Companies Act 2013, especially Corporate Social Responsibility, across major cities in India;
Undertaking capacity building measures in the endeavour to mainstream the adoption of CSR and responsible governance practices by the industry;
Offering Certificate Courses and Short-term Training; and
Organizing joint Seminars, Conferences and Workshops.
With the signing of the MOU with IICA, The Bengal Chamber became the nodal agency for IICA in the Eastern Region where it will represent IICA, and act as a think-tank and a centre of excellence to support the growth of the corporate sector through an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach.
The MOU signing was followed by a launch program on Business Responsibility and CSR. The mandate of Business Responsibility Reporting by SEBI and the Companies’ Act requirement of 2% CSR expenditure have put India on the international map as one of the leaders in regulatory action to ensure holistic sustainable development. As the key stakeholder group, it is now the onus of the corporate sector to comply with the requirements and build their capacity to be able to drive the sustainable development agenda of the country forward. Dr Bhaskar Chatterjee, IAS, DG & CEO IICA, took everyone through the new CSR rules and its subsequent implication and implementation. Mr. Bharat Wakhlu, Former Resident Director of the TATA Group gave an extensive and insightful presentation on Business Responsibility and the ensuing ethics.
It was an extremely perceptive and a fascinating session and The Chamber is truly proud of the alliance.
